Most motor cars are driven utilizing combustion energy provided by burning hydrocarbon fuel such as gasoline or diesel fuel in an internal combustion engine. However, in consideration of environmental pollution and breakage of an ozone layer caused by carbon dioxide which is produced by combustion of hydrocarbon fuel, new motor car-driving systems which do not utilize combustion of hydrocarbon fuel have been-studied.
Hydrogen has been-paid attention as a particularly clear energy source. A fuel cell motor car which is driven utilizing energy produced by combining hydrogen and oxygen has been practically employed. The hydrogen is generally charged in a pressure-resistant vessel which is mounted on the motor car. The fuel cell, however, has disadvantageous features in-that it needs very high cost for production and it has a large weight and a large volume. The large weight and large volume of the fuel cell is not favorably accepted for automobiles which are required to reduce their weight and volume as much as possible. Further, there is a problem in that the pressure-resistant vessel containing hydrogen gas under high pressure mounted onto a car may be dangerous. Furthermore there is another problem in that the pressure-resistant vessel is large in its weight and volume. Therefore, it will need a long period of time for motor cars mounted with a hydrogen fuel cell to be widely employed. “Electric Cell Handbook, New Edition” (published by Maruzen Inc., Feb. 20, 1995) describes fuel cells which utilize hydrogen-containing compounds such as methanol and hydrazine as fuel sources. It is also described that there are various problems in their practical use.
“Chemistry”, Vol. 54, No. 6 (1999), pages 41-42, describes an internal hydrogen combustion engine car (motor car driven by burning hydrogen directly in an internal combustion engine). This publication further describes that the internal hydrogen combustion engine motor car have been under development for practical use. This publication furthermore describes that hydrogen fuel can be charged into a pressure-resistant vessel or hydrogen fuel can be supplied from methanol carried an the motor car.
JP 2002-180906 describes a system for the internal hydrogen combustion engine for a motor car which comprises decomposing a hydrogen-containing compound such as methanol, gasoline, liquid petroleum gas or compressed natural gas carried on a motor car by means of a reformer carried on the motor car to produce-hydrogen gas, compressing the hydrogen gas in a storage tank, and burning the stored hydrogen gas for driving the car.